Azazel dropped onto the couch without waiting for an invitation.
His eyes swept the living room, then leaned back, draping one arm over the backrest, his gaze locked onto Kalawarner near the kitchen doorway. A grin split his face as he waved.
"Well, well. Kalawarner, right? How's the new life treating you?"
Kalawarner's eyes popped wide. She bowed so quickly, for a moment, Motohama thought she might snap in half.
"I'm doing well, Azazel-sama!" Her voice carried the breathless energy of a girl who just spotted her celebrity crush at a coffee shop. Her gaze then flickering to her new leader "Motohama-sama has been... very generous!"
Azazel's brow raised, then leaned forward, studying her like a cat eyeing a suspicious cardboard box.
'Hm, her mana reserves have expanded, greatly' he thought, chin resting on his fist. 'And I know damn well it's not from those potions he traded us. Kid's sitting on more secrets than he lets on'
Motohama crossed his arms and cocked his head, wondering why the leader of the Fallen Angels just showed up at his door unannounced.
"What's the purpose of your visit?" He asked "Did something happen that I need to be alarmed about, Azazel-san?"
Azazel blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. He waved a hand like he swatted an annoying fly.
"Nah, nothing to stress over, kid." He shrugged "Other than what Benemune already warned you about."
'Then what the hell is he doing here? The Governor of the Fallen Angels can't be just dropping by for tea and a chat'
"I'm here because I wanted to take a look at your Sacred Gear."
"My Sacred Gear?"
Azazel's grin stretched wider. He jabbed a finger at Motohama.
"I know for damn sure, kid, that your powers aren't from a Sacred Gear."
Kalawarner's eyes widened, her head whipped toward Motohama.
Azazel leaned forward, locking eyes with Motohama's unfazed stare.
"You claim you've got the power to extract essences and brew potions that grant different attributes, right?.... Sure, that's what it looked like when you fought Riser Phenex." He leaned back, crossing his arms "But during your spar with that blue-haired exorcist girl earlier, I noticed you used that same destructive power without chugging a potion"
"And, don't bother to bullshit me, boy. I've been watching you since the moment you met them"
"So, just tell me what exactly is your Sacred Gear, kid?"
Motohama's brain went into overdrive. Both sets of eyes drilled into him. He could respond with the classic 'can't reveal that, next question', but Kalawarner stood right there, and she trusted him now more than she trusted Azazel.
He had to answer this one.
'No choice, huh. Gotta spin this the right way'
He exhaled slow and steady, then looked him in the eyes.
"I don't know"
""Huh?""
"The tremor power you saw earlier...That came on impulse. The potion effects are temporary, as you know. But lately, if I absorb the essence out of ingredients, it sticks for some reason"
'Forgive me Kalawarner, but I can't reveal to you about the Gacha system'
Azazel leaned back, arms folding across his chest. Silence stretched between them for a moment. Then, to Motohama's surprise, the Fallen Angel leader sighed in disappointment similar to a cat finding an empty food bowl.
"What a bummer! And here I thought, I would finally have the answers"
He rubbed his chin, looking at Motohama with interest "Still, the rapid growth you've shown won't trap you in one lane like most Sacred Gear users get stuck in." He paused, then smirked like a proud dad watching his son ace a test.
"With power like this, you're like walking around with a cheat code."
Motohama stayed quiet, while the leader of the Grigori hit the bullseye, but on the wrong target.
'Hope he doesn't bring this up every damn time we meet, or explaining my powers is gonna turn into a full-time job'
"If you don't mind, can I have a look at the potion, you used?"
Motohama nodded, reaching into his dimensional storage, pulled out a vial from his stash, and handed it over like it was expensive chocolate he could buy by the truckload.
Azazel snatched it up, eyes glinting with interest. He held it at eye level, looking at it in pure ecstasy.
"Fascinating..." His voice dropped to a murmur "The mana signature on this one is way different from the ones you traded us. You won't mind if I take this with me, will you?"
"No, you can keep it" Motohama stood "I'm grabbing something to drink. You want anything?"
Azazel waved him off, already absorbed in the vial like a kid with a new toy. Motohama headed to the kitchen, to fetch something cold to cool his head and finish the extraction that got interrupted earlier.
---
*DING!*
[Rank 3 Gacha Ticket]
He tapped the ticket. The screen flickered, displaying a card with a red-haired teenager sporting sharp eyes and a cocky grin.
[Yukihira Soma – Character Card]
[Pressing this card will grant you memories, skills, powers, and abilities possessed by the character]
Motohama blinked.
'A Character Card?'
He'd never pulled this type of reward before. Weapons? Sure. Items? Plenty. Abilities? All the time. But a full character card? First.
He pressed it.
WHOOOOSH!
Information slammed into his brain one after another. Recipes. Techniques. Knife skills. Flavor profiles. Ingredient combinations that made sense and some that absolutely shouldn't but somehow worked. His hands suddenly remembered movements they'd never made before.
He gasped, bracing himself against the counter while the foreign memories settled into place like puzzle pieces. After a moment, he exhaled slow, clenching his fist.
'Amazing. This might be the best pull I've gotten so far!'
He returned to the living room where Azazel chatted with Kalawarner. He caught the Fallen Angel's attention, an idea already forming in his mind, and voiced out his request of treating him with his special dish.
Azazel blinked.
"It's the first time you've visited our home." Motohama met his gaze dead-on "So I can't just let you leave with an empty stomach. Right, Kalawarner?"
Kalawarner's head jerked up, and nodded as fast she could.
"Y-yes, of course!"
Azazel sighed, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Sure, kid. Why not?"
Motohama rolled up his sleeves, feeling Soma's cooking sessions memory kick in.
"Alright then. Let's get to work"
'I can't wait to see what face he would make, after he takes his first bite. I bet it's gonna be worth it'
---
*SIZZLE!*
Butter hit the hot pan with a satisfying hiss. Motohama moved on his own, dicing onions into perfect cubes, searing chicken until the skin turned golden-brown and crispy, deglazing with wine that hissed and steamed like a tiny explosion. His hands flowed through movements that weren't his but felt natural as breathing.
Kalawarner watched from the doorway, eyes wide as dinner plates.
Azazel leaned against the counter, arms crossed, an amused smirk plastered on his face.
"You cook like you've been doing this your whole life."
Motohama didn't look up, too focused on timing the garlic butter sauce.
"I picked up a few things recently. But, don't worry, it's going to be worth every bite. I promise"
He plated his dish with pan-seared chicken with garlic butter sauce, roasted vegetables glazed with balsamic reduction, and a simple arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette.
Azazel sat down, grabbed his fork, and speared a piece of chicken. The moment he bit down, his entire body went rigid.
'This flavor...'
The buttery richness melted across his tongue. The garlic hit perfectly, not overpowering, just enough to make everything sing. The chicken simply dissolved in his mouth, juicy and tender with that perfect crispy skin. The balsamic glaze on the vegetables brought a sweet-tart punch that balanced everything.
'When was the last time I ate something like this?'
Images flashed through his mind. The smell of home-cooked meals before the world got complicated. Before wars and politics and endless paperwork. Before he took the role of the leader and forgot what simple pleasures tasted like.
'My brother... what happened to us? When did we stop living and just start surviving?'
He looked up, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Kalawarner's fork clattered against her plate, as she couldn't believe her eyes.
"A-Azazel-sama?!"
Motohama looked up, mid-bite, and froze. The Governor of the Fallen Angels sat there with tears streaming down his face, still chewing slowly like he was experiencing a holy awakening of his soul.
'What the actual hell?'
"This is, this is what I've been missing all this time" He grabbed Motohama's hand across the table with both of his, squeezing tight "From where did you learn to cook like this?!"
"Uh... youtube?"
Azazel's eyes blazed with intensity that probably should've been reserved for sacred gear research or preventing wars "Kid, forget your Sacred Gear. Forget your potions. THIS—" He jabbed his fork at the plate "—this is your true calling!"
Kalawarner sat frozen, fork halfway to her mouth, watching her leader have what could only be described as a spiritual experience over dinner.
"I haven't tasted something this good since..." Azazel trailed off, staring at the ceiling like he was seeing the face of his parents "Since before the Great War. My friend, we used to cook together. He'd always burn the vegetables, but we'd laugh and..."
'Oh lord, I just wanted to test out some cooking skills, not send this man into an existential crisis'
"Azazel-san, maybe you should—"
Azazel slammed his free hand on the table, still gripping Motohama's with the other. His eyes locked onto Motohama's with the intensity of a man who'd found his life's purpose.
"Join my faction. I'll appoint you the official chef of the Grigori, kid!"
Motohama tried to pull his hand back, but Azazel's grip didn't budge.
"That's... not really—"
"I'll pay you anything." Azazel's voice dropped to a desperate whisper. "Name your price. Sacred Gear blueprints? My harems? I will just give it to give you—"
"I'm good, thanks"
Azazel finally released his hand, slumping back in his chair like puppet strings got cut . He picked up his fork again, took another bite, and his eyes immediately welled up again.
'This is the weirdest flex I've ever pulled' Motohama thought, watching the legendary Fallen Angel leader savor the dish in front of him.
Kalawarner slowly resumed eating, her eyes darting between them like she'd just watch a romance manga of different genre.
Azazel finished his plate in silence. When he finally set his fork down, he stretched his arms overhead and released a deep, satisfied sigh that sounded like it came from his soul.
"Thanks for the dinner, kid." His voice had that post-cry rasp to it. He grinned, as he patted Motohama's shoulder "Your cooking skills might turn out to be more dangerous than your Sacred Gear."
'Well, can't argue with that, after what I just watched'
Motohama nodded slowly, still processing the fact that he'd just watched one of the most powerful beings in existence have a complete emotional meltdown over dinner.
Azazel stood up, summoning the magic circle beneath his feet, prepared to leave before he could lose himself any further.
"One more thing, kid." His expression then, turned serious "While I was keeping an eye on you earlier, I caught a group of humans watching you fight as well. And one of them, had the True Longinus, so be careful. That's all I have to say"
And, then he left.
Kalawarner stared at Motohama with a shocked expression, the revelation putting her mind into a spiral until Motohama gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"M-Motohama"
She lifted her head slightly and looked up desperately at his smiling face.
"Forgive me, Kala. But, this is where we have to part our ways...."
Splat!
. . .
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